Waitrose pulls Christmas cracker as online shoppers boost sales January 6, 2015 THINGS may be bleak for the big four supermarkets, but for the smaller, challenger businesses initial signs are that Christmas was a real cracker. Waitrose has topped off a strong year, in which it had grown market share to five per cent by December, according to figures published yesterday. The upmarket grocer, which is part [...]
Record trading brings festive cheer to retailer House of Fraser January 6, 2015 HOUSE of Fraser has posted a record Christmas, buoyed by Black Friday and strong online sales, lifting expectations for the department store group’s full-year results. Like-for-like sales for the six weeks to 3 January rose eight per cent, with online sales up 31.2 per cent while sales from bricks and mortar stores rose 4.2 per [...]
Supermarket price wars: Sainsbury’s and Asda kick off new cost-cutting battle January 6, 2015 Asda and J Sainsbury fired the latest salvo yesterday in the supermarket price war, with Tesco also expected to launch a round of price cuts tomorrow as the big four battle it out to win over shoppers’ loyalty. Walmart-owned Asda pledged to spend £300m lowering prices in the first quarter of 2015 as part of [...]
DX pounces as City Link starts asset fire sale January 6, 2015 CITY Link administrator Ernst & Young yesterday kick-started a fire sale for the beleaguered parcel delivery service’s assets, as it attempted to recoup some of the investment of private equity owner Better Capital. Rival delivery firm DX completed the purchase of £1.125m worth of assets that included cages, scanners and certain intellectual property. Petar Cvetkovic, [...]
High street stores lose sales to Black Friday and good weather January 6, 2015 BLACK Friday led to a slump in December’s retail sales, according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker. Mid-market retailers saw sales drop by 1.4 per cent year-on-year, the fashion sector taking the biggest hit with a 6.1 per cent reduction in the last week of 2014. Sales of lifestyle goods went up by [...]
The selfie stick: A short history of this year’s most popular Christmas present January 6, 2015 It's been mirthlessly mocked, dubbed "the wand of Narcissus" and generally cited in descriptions of the downfall of society. But nobody could have predicted just how much the selfie stick – a small, articulated monopod with a clever bit of plastic attached that can reach where human arms can't – would catch on. In fact, [...]
More bad news for retailers: Consumers to send back £223m-worth of unwanted Christmas presents January 6, 2015 Retailers have started to report their Christmas performances, and while online growth is something that many of them will trumpet proudly, the rise of etail presents a growing challenge for the sector. This year will see record levels of unwanted gifts being returned to retailers, with one estimate putting the total amount being sent [...]
Fat Cat Tuesday: Top bosses have already earned a year’s salary in 2015, just two days into the working year January 6, 2015 Top business bosses have already earned a year’s salary in 2015 on the day dubbed “Fat Cat Tuesday”. Just two days into the new working year, while most workers are still emerging blinking into the grey daylight, weighed down by mince pies after the Christmas break, business chiefs will already have earned a massive £27,200. [...]
January is the worst month of the year for your marriage January 6, 2015 While you're considering whether to take that smoothie machine back to the shop, your other half may well be mulling a different sort of swap. We all know January is pretty bleak but it turns out it is also the worst month for your marriage – one in which most British couples either start [...]
Why is the first quarter the worst time of year for retail administrations? January 6, 2015 Hating January already? Be thankful you're not a retail business, because the festive hangover is even more brutal for them. The first quarter has been consistently the biggest period for retail failures looking back over the past three years – and experts believe 2015 could see even more companies collapse as the repercussions of [...]